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Pupils who designed a badge sent to space meet NASA astronaut

Carwyn JonesBBC Wales
News imageBBC School children sitting on the floor of a school hall. You can see the back of their heads, looking at a big screen. On the screen is astronauts. The pupils are wearing a blue school uniformBBC
Pupils at the school in Cemaes got the chance to ask question to a NASA astronaut

Pupils at a school on Anglesey were "very excited" when they met virtually with a NASA astronaut.

Students at Ysgol Cemaes were able to put their questions to Frank Rubio on Wednesday, who is set to be part of the crew for the Artemis III mission.

Rubio also spent more than a year aboard the International Space Station (ISS) after a fault with the spacecraft that was due to bring him and his fellow astronauts back to Earth.

During the virtual session, pupils asked him about his experiences of living and working in space, as well as the challenges and excitement of space travel.

News imageGetty Images An astronaut in a blue one piece uniform, raising his hands waving at the camera. He is standing in front of the USA flag, and has a NASA logo on his uniform. He has dark hair and is smiling at the cameraGetty Images
Astronaut Frank Rubio was stranded on the ISS for 371 days

This is not the first time pupils at the primary school have had the chance to speak with astronauts.

Earlier this year, they took part in a project to design a badge that was sent into space, later seeing it float in zero gravity aboard the ISS.

The opportunity was made possible by former pupil Dr Melanie Coathup, a scientist who works closely with astronauts and has helped inspire the school's growing links with the space industry.

Guto Rhys, acting headteacher, said the students were "extremely excited" ahead of the meeting, and had "been looking at videos of life on the ISS and life in space".

News imageA man in a white shirt, behind a colourful wall in a school. He has dark hair, with a stubble and is smiling at the camera
The school's headteacher says the pupils were very excited to talk to an astronaut

The pupils had prepared many questions to ask Rubio.

Harry, 9 and his friend Sofia, 8, were among those listening to the astronaut talk about his experiences.

Harry said: "The most interesting thing I've done today is learning about NASA and Frank Rubio."

The pupils had been busy preparing in the classroom ahead of the meeting, according to Sofia.

She said: "In the school today, we've been learning about Frank Rubio. We learned that if you're sick in space, there are medical kits to help.

"We've been watching some videos about how to brush your teeth and sleep in space."

News imageAn image of two school pupils, one boy on the left and one girl on the right. They are both smiling at the camera. The boy is slightly taller than the girl, and they are both wearing a blue school uniform
Harry and Sofia were both delighted to meet Frank Rubio

Lola, 9, was also in the hall for the talk on Wednesday. She was delighted to see Rubio holding a badge that one of the pupils at the school had designed.

"We've been learning about Frank Rubio and that he was supposed to stay in space for six months, but he ended up staying there for a year," she said.

"We got to design a badge to go up to space and it was my cousin who won and her badge got to go up to space."

News imageAn image of two girls, one has brown hair, the other has blonde hair. They are both looking directly at the camera and smiling. They are both wearing blue school uniforms. There is also a big white banner behind them with the school's name on it.
Lola and Ruby say they're lucky to be able to have such a close connection with NASA as a school

Speaking to a real astronaut was "very cool" according to Ruby, 10, "because no other schools in Wales will get that experience".

"The most interesting thing that I learned today was that there is a space station up in space," she said.

The school plans to design a new badge very soon, with the plan to send another one up to space next year.

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